Larry DePalma broke in to the NHL as a free agent signing with the Minnesota North Stars in 1985.

At the age of 19, DePalma played major junior hockey in the WHL with the New Westminster Bruins. In 65 games, he scored 14 goals and 16 assists for 30 points. Although his offensive numbers were nothing spectacular, his solid defensive play earned him a closer look from many NHL clubs.

DePalma played in one NHL game in 1985-86 for the North Stars. Realizing that he needed to prove he had a greater level of offensive ability, DePalma felt he would best be able to accomplish that by returning for another season in junior, as an overage player. The move paid off. In playing with the Saskatoon Blades, DePalma scored 61 goals and 51 assists for 112 points. But, perhaps just as big a turnaround was his propensity to mix it up. He collected a whopping 232 minutes in penalties.

DePalma's statistics clearly caught the eyes of Stars' GM Lou Nanne and the player was invited to training camp in 1986-87. DePalma made the squad and appeared in 56 games, scoring nine goals and six assists while spending 219 minutes in the penalty box. DePalma saw little playing time with the North Stars in the following season, which was split between the Baltimore Skipjacks of the AHL and the Kalamazoo Wings of the IHL. In 1989-90, he got back to a semi-regular role with the North Stars, dressing for 43 games, scoring five times while assisting on seven others.

Midway through the 1992-93 season, his rights were dealt to the San Jose Sharks where he appeared in 20 games, scoring two goals and six assists. His last NHL season was in 1993-94 when he played in seven games for the Pittsburgh Penguins.

DePalma was a typical professional hockey journeyman, playing with 14 teams in the NHL, AHL, and IHL.

REGULAR SEASON

PLAYOFFS

Season

Club

League

GP

G

A

TP

PIM

+/-

GP

G

A

TP

PIM

1983-84

Redford Royals

GLJHL

1984-85

New Westminster Bruins

WHL

65

14

16

30

87

10

1

1

2

25

1985-86

Saskatoon Blades

WHL

65

61

51

112

232

13

7

9

16

58

1985-86

Minnesota North Stars

NHL

1

0

0

0

0

0

1986-87

Minnesota North Stars

NHL

56

9

6

15

219

-7

1986-87

Springfield Indians

AHL

9

2

2

4

82

1987-88

Minnesota North Stars

NHL

7

1

1

2

15

-2

1987-88

Baltimore Skipjacks

AHL

16

8

10

18

121

1987-88

Kalamazoo Wings

IHL

22

6

11

17

215

1988-89

Minnesota North Stars

NHL

43

5

7

12

102

-14

2

0

0

0

6

1989-90

Kalamazoo Wings

IHL

36

7

14

21

218

4

1

1

2

32

1990-91

Minnesota North Stars

NHL

14

3

0

3

26

-5

1990-91

Kalamazoo Wings

IHL

55

27

32

59

160

11

5

4

9

25

1991-92

Kansas City Blades

IHL

62

28

29

57

188

15

7

13

20

34

1992-93

San Jose Sharks

NHL

20

2

6

8

41

-14

1992-93

Kansas City Blades

IHL

30

11

11

22

83

10

1

4

5

20

1993-94

Atlanta Knights

IHL

21

10

10

20

109

1993-94

Salt Lake Golden Eagles

IHL

34

4

12

16

125

1993-94

Las Vegas Thunder

IHL

1

0

0

0

17

1993-94

Pittsburgh Penguins

NHL

7

1

0

1

5

+1

1

0

0

0

0

1993-94

Cleveland Lumberjacks

IHL

9

4

1

5

49

1994-95

Cleveland Lumberjacks

IHL

25

6

6

12

113

1994-95

San Diego Gulls

IHL

38

14

8

22

86

2

0

0

0

20

1995-96

Minnesota Moose

IHL

55

9

17

26

173

1996-97

Milwaukee Admirals

IHL

68

13

13

26

131

3

0

1

1

4

NHL Totals

148

21

20

41

408

3

0

0

0

6

WHL East Second All-Star Team (1986)

Signed to an amateur try-out contract by Minnesota, February 17, 1986. Signed as a free agent by Minnesota, May 12, 1986. Signed as a free agent by San Jose, August 30, 1991. Signed as a free agent by NY Islanders, November 29, 1993. Claimed on waivers by Pittsburgh from NY Islanders, March 9, 1994.